Social partners issue joint declaration on 1999 Employment Guidelines

In December 1998, the central European-level social partners issued a joint declaration to the Vienna European Council on the 1999 Employment Guidelines. They underline the need for continuity in order to strengthen the four "pillars" of the Guidelines. However, disagreements remain - particularly in relation to setting targets for an increase in the employment rate.

On 9 December 1998, the central European-level social partner organisations - the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE), the European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest (CEEP) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) - issued a joint declaration to the European Council meeting in Vienna (EU9812141N) on the 1999 Employment Guidelines (EU9810130F).

The joint declaration welcomes the progress made over the previous year in respect of the 1998 Employment Guidelines and the development of an integrated and coordinated European employment strategy. For the 1999 Guidelines, the social partners agree with the European Commission that the keywords should be "consolidation, continuity and commitment". They also agree that further efforts are necessary to promote the balanced application of the four "pillars" of the Guidelines (employability, entrepreneurship, adaptability and equal opportunities), since the integrated character of the strategy will otherwise be lost and the goal of increasing the employment rate in Europe to above 70% will not be attained.

The declaration reaffirms the social partners' commitment to contributing to the process at both European and national levels. The European social partners have decided jointly to examine initiatives taken by the social partners in the Member States that indicate good practice in relation to striking a balance between flexibility and security. In addition, they ask Member States to ensure that the social partners are actively involved in the implementation of the Guidelines.

The European social partners express their concern about the international economic crisis, which they see as jeopardising the prospects for a sustained, job-creating medium-term growth process. The social partners believe that the Guidelines should be accompanied by a coherent and coordinated response from the Council of Economic and Financial Affairs Ministers. They welcome the decision to reduce interest rates across the "euro 11" (the 11 countries which are now covered by the single currency), as it indicates that the European Central Bank is playing its role in supporting general economic policies of the Union on growth, competitiveness and employment. The social partners believe that the consultation procedures at European level can assist in facilitating the necessary synergy between the EU's Broad Economic Policy Guidelines and Employment Guidelines. They propose the reform of the Standing Committee for Employment - it is envisaged that the committee should become a forum for discussion between representatives of the social partners and of the Labour and Social Affairs and Economic and Financial Affairs Councils.

The Commission proposals for the 1999 Employment Guidelines recommend the inclusion of measures designed to integrate disabled persons in the world of work. The social partners have prepared a compendium of good practice which demonstrates that obstacles to the employment of people with disabilities are possible to overcome. These experiences of good practice will be disseminated to their members as well as to decision-makers with the aim of inspiring action. In addition, preparations will begin on a joint declaration on the subject.

Although the social partners have issued a joint declaration, some divergences between them remain. UNICE, in a position paper, expresses strong reservations concerning any kind of quantitative targets at EU level, whereas ETUC want to set a European goal of increasing the European employment rate to 70%.

UNICE welcomes the fact that lifelong learning was recognised in the Employment Guidelines by introducing a new guideline on the issue. However, it finds inappropriate a quantitative approach, which asks Member States to define a yearly increase in the number of participants benefiting from such measures.

Equally, UNICE is pleased that the guidelines recognise that the effective organisation of work and training actions are areas of social partner responsibility, and has committed itself to playing a full role in this regard. However, it maintains its firm opposition to across-the-board reductions in working hours which it believes considerably reduce adaptability and hamper job creation. Conversely, ETUC has pledged to continue to prioritise in its own work the reorganisation and the reduction of working time.